Connection lies in the story

Stories from Antiquity console us and connect us as humans through the falling in love, the heartbreaks, the sorrow and the celebrations.

Associate Professor Marguerite Johnson (Ancient History and Classical Languages) says it is her professional responsibility to research, preserve and share the great works and ongoing legacies of the ancients.

"The myths, legends and historical events of antiquity connect us all as humans, even if it is at times a tenuous thread. These stories touch us and remind us that we are not alone – the same emotions were experienced by people eons back and we may find a deep sense of comfort in reading the works of poets such as Sappho and Catullus, and the dialogues of philosophers such as Plato, all of whom speak with such clarity and beauty about the human condition" Johnson says.

"Take the words pain drips for example. That is all that remains of a poem by Sappho and in this instance I don't want to know what would have come next. These fragile, fragmented words, coming to us from thousands of years ago, cut straight to the heart."

Johnson's academic journey began at The University of Newcastle when she was awarded the University Medal in Classics. She later completed a PhD on the Latin poet Catullus and his representations of his lover 'Lesbia.' Since then she has worked here, inspiring others to engage with ancient lives – their beliefs, pleasures, pains and passions.

Johnson considers herself a feminist scholar, having been inspired by certain female Classicists of the 1980s and 90s who opened up antiquity in new and exciting ways by discussing women's lives and interrogating Greece and Rome through various feminist lenses.

"I'm very grateful to these women. They were, and still are, courageous and brilliant. They have mentored me without really knowing it and have given me a voice as a female Classicist. In many ways, their work shook up Classics because they looked at gender, sexualities, the representations of women and the lives of the dispossessed," Johnson says.

"I now strive to pass on their significant legacy to my students as well as the general public," she says.

Johnson has been involved in several public lectures and workshops, including a talk about love and lust in the ancient world (delivered on Valentine's Day), evenings where she shares ghost stories of the Greeks and Romans, sessions on myths and legends as well as writing articles for the print media. "Once I wrote a piece on love and framed the piece by retelling the tales from Plato's Symposium. It was wonderful to receive so many comments about how people enjoyed reading it – it's a testimony to the power of antiquity and how it can still speak to us."

Johnson says, "There is a yearning for history in society. A hunger to connect. And it is through the literature, the myths, the tales that much of the beauty of antiquity is kept alive. The past is brought into the future and we learn from and connect to it and its people."

Johnson is involved in various projects, particularly research on the influence of antiquity on Australia's colonial period. "You would be surprised by just how many classical interpretations are embedded in the early years of Australia's white history. The first colonial pictorial accounts of Indigenous peoples, for example, actually resemble Greek sculptures. Why has this been overlooked? Why did this happen? These are important questions that exemplify how recourse to antiquity shaped the colonial past."

Johnson argues that the value of antiquity can be witnessed "everywhere" in the modern world. "How nations were moulded, how the rhetoric of national identities evolved regularly have their beginnings in antiquity – the ideas, ideals, philosophies of the Greeks and Romans were often evoked to articulate nationhood, imperialism, politics, colonialism and by recognising this, we can contribute to current and future debates, pose questions, and look to antiquity for some answers."

Johnson has recently authored a book on the Latin poet Ovid and his work Medicamina Faciei Feminae, or 'Cosmetics for the Female Face.'

"It was an odd project actually, but something I absolutely enjoyed. I provided a new translation on the piece, a commentary and examined ancient as well as modern ideas and ideals of female beauty."

Johnson's academic career is marked by many successes and highlights. A pivotal moment was in 2005 when a new complete poem by Sappho was discovered. Except for one other complete poem, Sappho's literary genius remains fragmented.

"The American Philological Society organized two panels of experts to discuss this precious discovery and I was invited to present a paper. The poem is about growing old and the organizers thought it would be appropriate to invite me as I was one of the youngest scholars in the world working on Sappho at that time."

In 2012, Johnson was also invited to present a paper on Sappho and Reception Studies at Oxford University, an invitation that brought together two of her research passions – the Greek poet and research that focuses on retellings and reuses of ancient icons and literature.

"I spoke about female playwrights, beginning in the 1800s through to contemporary times, who structure works around Sappho, reinventing Sappho, breathing new life into her and claiming her for their own."

Johnson has also travelled to Beijing as an invited speaker at a conference on Plato. Before that she hosted a two-day conference and think-tank on Classical Reception Studies in Australia and New Zealand, which brought together scholars and practitioners to discuss artworks, architecture and literature. "Once again, the ancient world is present everywhere here, and this conference was the first of its kind to bring together people interested in discussing the ancient legacies in Australasian literature, theatre, film and architecture."

"Through my research, I always aim to articulate the debt of antiquity in the post-ancient world – particularly the modern world – bridging the gap between the past and the present. Sometimes, you think very little has changed, and in some ways that's true. We are all still human with the same desires, confusions, hopes and dreams. The ancients are our teachers, reminding us that we too are teachers to future generations, leaving our own legacies behind."

Career Summary

Biography

Marguerite Johnson is Associate Professor of Ancient History and Classical Languages (Classics) in the School of Humanities & Social Science, and Asssistant Dean, Teaching & Learning in the Faculty of Education & Arts.

Her work is inspired by certain cultural facets of antiquity, particularly the gender dynamics and sexualities of the Greeks and Romans. She is also fascinated by the ways in which the ancients told stories via their folktales, fairytales and myth-making processes. How these stories have been transmitted by composers and authors - from Sappho to Plato, Catullus and Ovid – inform the basis of some of her research and teaching.

Ancient legacies expressed in post-ancient societies, particularly in an Australian context, is another research area.

Marguerite is also interested in interdisciplinary research incorporating and extending Classically-informed paradigms. Theory, modern retellings of tales, reinventions of myths, legends and various belief systems underlie some of her enquiries and her practice-based research. Her short stories on Clodia and Medea have appeared in Arion and her Catullan-inspired poetry in Tellus.

She is co-author, with Terry Ryan, of Sexuality in Greek and Roman Society and Literature: A Sourcebook (Routledge, 2005); author of Sappho (Duckworth, 2007), Boudicca (Duckworth, 2012) and Ovid on Cosmetics: Medicamina Faciei Femineae and Related Texts (Bloomsbury, 2016). She is editor of Catullus in Contemporary Perspective (Anticthon Special Volume, 2006) and co-editor, with Harold Tarrant, of Alcibiades and the Socratic Lover-Educator (Duckworth, 2011).

Research ExpertiseAssociate Professor Johnson’s research expertise is predominantly in the area of Greek and Latin literary studies, especially lyric poetry. She is interested in the representations of gender, sexualities and the body in ancient texts with particular attention to the ways in which the ancients write about women. She also works in Platonic studies, particularly in the area of Plato’s myth voice. In addition to these areas, Marguerite works in Classical Reception Studies, with an emphasis on Australian Indigeneity and Reception, the representations of particular ancient figures and their post-ancient appropriations (particularly Medea, Sappho and Boudicca), and Australian theatre.

CollaborationsAssociate Professor Johnson was a research collaborator on the ARC Discovery Project, 'Plato's Myth Voice: The Identification and Interpretation of Inspired Speech in Plato,' with colleagues from The University of Newcastle, The University of Sydney and Monash University. This project used recent discoveries about the language of ancient myths, oracles and allegories to understand similar discourse in Plato and the Platonic tradition.

Qualifications

PhD, University of Newcastle

Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Newcastle

Keywords

Classical Reception

Greek and Latin Literature

Magic in Antiquity

Myth and Fairytale

Languages

Greek (Fluent)

Latin (Fluent)

Fields of Research

Code

Description

Percentage

200510

Latin and Classical Greek Literature

50

200524

Comparative Literature Studies

50

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title

Organisation / Department

Associate Professor

University of NewcastleSchool of Humanities and Social ScienceAustralia

Academic appointment

Dates

Title

Organisation / Department

1/12/1997 -

Associate Lecturer

University of NewcastleSchool of Humanities and Social ScienceAustralia

Membership

Dates

Title

Organisation / Department

Executive Member - Australasian Society of Classical Studies

Australasian Society of Classical Studies Australia

Member - Directory of Researchers for the Australasian Classical Reception Studies Network

Directory of Researchers for the Australasian Classical Reception Studies NetworkAustralia

Awards

Distinction

Year

Award

2005

Distinguished Visiting Scholar - Centre for European StudiesThe University of Adelaide

Recipient

Year

Award

2005

Honorary Research Associate - Department of Classics and Ancient HistoryUniversity of Sydney

1988

University MedalUniversity of Newcastle

Research Award

Year

Award

2013

FEDUA Mid-Career FellowshipUniversity of Newcastle

2013

Vice-Chancellorâs Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student LearningUniversity of Newcastle

Johnson MM, ''Toothless intellectuals', 'the misery of the poor', 'poetry after Auschwitz', and the white, middle-class audience: The moral perils of Kosky and Wright's The Women of Troy (or, how do we regard the pain of others?)', Didaskalia, 8 65-74 (2011) [C1]

To conduct research into (1) specific English writers of the Twentieth Century (with a focus on retellings of mythology and fairy tales) and (2) the use of Reception Studies in Chinese Humanities (namely, the mediums in which canonical Chinese history, myths and legends have been recently appropriated in modern contexts such as films, artworks and other formats in order to compare the Chinese usage to corresponding usage in the West of ancient Greek and Roman history, myths and legends).

Research Supervision

Number of supervisions

Completed15

Current8

Total current UON EFTSL

Masters0.9

PhD1.85

Current Supervision

Commenced

Level of Study

Research Title / Program / Supervisor Type

2016

Masters

From Homer to Harry Potter: An Examination of the Changing Iconography of the
Witch Figure Throughout Western Literary Tradition.M Philosophy (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2016

PhD

Wrapture 'd'PhD (Aboriginal Studies), The Wollotuka Institute, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2015

PhD

General George Brinton McClellan Union ArmyPhD (History), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2015

PhD

Revised Limits of Participation in Public Life: Roman Aristocratic Women in the Late Republic, and the Emergence of Court Society in the Early Imperial PeriodPhD (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2014

PhD

Ecocriticism of Greek and Roman Erotica: An Environmental Context for the Ancient Erotic ExperiencePhD (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2014

Masters

Workshopped Translations of Euripides' Helen and Iphigenia Amongst the TauriansM Philosophy (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2012

PhD

The Portrayal and Implications of Feminine Ageing in Latin LiteraturePhD (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2009

PhD

Judas Iscariot, Betrayal and IdolatryPhD (Religious Studies), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

Past Supervision

Year

Level of Study

Research Title / Program / Supervisor Type

2015

PhD

National Identity, the Auteur and the Greek World on FilmPhD (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2015

PhD

"A Unifying Principle:" Pauli Murray, Biography, and the Quest For IdentityPhD (History), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2014

PhD

Magical Techniques and Implements Present in Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, Byzantine Greek Solomonic Manuscripts and European Grimoires: Transmission, Continuity and Commonality (The Technology of Solomonic Magic)PhD (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2013

PhD

Vital Signs/Art and Wellness: The Hospital as a Mediated SitePhD (Fine Art), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2011

Masters

The Ghostly Experiences of Non-Indigenous AustraliansM Philosophy (Religious), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2011

PhD

Touching Magic: Deliberately Concealed Objects in Old Australian Houses and BuildingsPhD (History), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2008

PhD

Rosaleen Norton's Contribution to the Western Esoteric TraditionPhD (Humanities), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2007

PhD

BIOS ~ ARTEMISPhD (Classics), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2007

Honours

Dances with Deities: The Imposition of Political Hegemony though Narrative, Religious Ritual and Philosophy in an Imperialist SettingHistory, University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

Internationally-acclaimed filmmaker, Sonia Bible will visit the University of Newcastle on September 5 to explore the University's archived documents relating to the 'Witch of Kings Cross', Rosaleen Norton.

Leanne
Glass was working as a casual at a large department store when a colleague
suggested she had the potential to be more than a shop assistant, and that she
should look into the University of Newcastle's Open Foundation tertiary
preparation program.

Florence Nightingale was a practical, highly experienced nurse who advocated the role of beauty, aesthetics and nature in medical practice. She believed buildings with windows, beautiful views, central courtyards and light were imperative for the healing process.

Associate Professor Marguerite Johnson

Position

Associate ProfessorSchool of Humanities and Social ScienceFaculty of Education and Arts